Systems Alliance

 The Systems Alliance was the representative body of Earth and all human colonies in Earth-controlled space. Backed by Earth's most powerful nations, the Alliance was humanity's military, exploratory, and economic spearhead. The Alliance was governed by a Senate that was based on the massive Apex Station in orbit of Mars. The Alliance existed between 2090 at it's founding after the discovery of alien artifacts on Mars, to 2370 when Apex Station, and effectively the Alliance itself, were annihilated in a coordinated coup d'etat by then Fleet Admiral Khyber Dominar of the 5th Allied Fleet and a massive collection of dissidents, colonial rebels, and mercenary factions.

Advancement
In 2090, a mining team on Mars made perhaps humanity's greatest discovery in history. After investigating a "Bermuda Triangle'-like effect near the southern pole, the team unearthed the subterranean ruins of an ancient alien research station, revealing incontrovertible proof of the existence of alien life. Humanity was no longer alone in the universe.

The impact was profound in all areas of human culture, but nowhere more so than religion. New beliefs sprang up overnight such as the Interventionary Evolutionist movement, who zealously proclaimed the discovery as proof that all human history had been directed and controlled by alien forces. Even established religions struggled to explain extraterrestrial life. Some tried to incorporate this newfound knowledge into their established dogma, while a few tried to stubbornly deny the evidence on Mars.

The news of the discovery dominated the global media and raised questions not only about the existence and purpose of man, but questions about the aliens themselves. Foremost, were they still out there in the beyond? While these questions had served to fracture most religions, they had a unifying effect on politics. Rather than nations fighting each other over differences, it was now 'us vs. them' and the foundations of a united human front were laid.

Within a year of the discovery, Earth's eighteen largest nations, most notably the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, had drafted and ratified the Systems Alliance charter, establishing a representative political body to expand, defend, and govern human territory. Shortly thereafter, the various nations of Earth pooled their military resources to create the Systems Alliance Military. The same year, 2098, the Alliance discovered the Sol system's Targeted Acceleration Relay (TAR) orbiting the Kuiper object planetoid Pluto, originally thought to be a moon, Charon. The Charon Relay propelled them into space and the reach of humanity grew rapidly.

First Contact War
The Alliance began a rapid campaign of expansion, establishing numerous colonies and constructing a large fleet, even though it had yet to encounter another species. Maintaining the expansionist policy, the Alliance activated every Relay it came across, in order to seek out new resources and establish colonies. Despite the success, the Systems Alliance was not considered a true political body since it lacked the authority of individual nations which comprised it. At the time, the Alliance was more akin to a council of numerous nations who voted individually and often vetoed decisions and legislation.



Eight years later, humanity made first contact with another alien species, and everything changed. A scout fleet consisting of two frigates and four cargo vessels, trying to activate a new Relay, encountered a firaxan patrol fleet. Activating a dormant Relay without knowing where it lead had been declared illegal by the Interstellar Council (ISC), though the humans did not know this. Only one of the human ships made it back to Charybdis colony, which was subsequently discovered by the firaxans and invaded. While individual governments remained unsure on what actions should be taken, the Alliance took control and attacked the firaxans.

The resulting First Contact War was relatively short and bloodless, lasting only a few months and costing 844 human lives (with a slightly higher number of firaxan casualties). The Interstellar Council intervened and negotiated a peace. With the discovery of the ISC and the greater community, humanity leapt onto the galactic stage.The Alliance received a surge of popularity, which gave it the necessary political credibility to speak for humanity as a whole, and render the individual Earth nations irrelevant forever.

Expansion
From that time, the Alliance continued its expansion, with the resource wealth of more than two-hundred settled colonies and thousands of industrial outposts and research stations pouring resources back to Earth. This expansion brought the Alliance into conflict with the omorians as both species rushed to settle the Tyrian Traverse, near the intersection of the Shrike Abyssal and omorian space. The Alliance also maintained a careful truce with the firaxans. The Alliance was granted emissary status with the Council, as well. It was speculated that, given humanity's remarkably fast rise in terms of military, political, and economic power, that the Systems Alliance may have soon been invited to join the Council itself. This had been a source of concern to several other species.

Humans expanded rapidly from Earth in a very short period of time, becoming swiftly integrated into Council society and the galactic economy. They became less ethnically diverse in their later years, due to a more multicultural society and greater unity between nations. Improved medical advances and gene therapy led to longer, healthier lifespans; as of now the average citizen can expect to live to around 180. Most humans retain their native tongue, but learn alien languages or Trade Creole for the sake of convenience or as a gesture of unity.

One of the lasting consequences of the First Contact War was the interruption of a 1,200-year galactic peace. Fairly or unfairly, as a result, humans are often thought of as aggressors, and are sometimes portrayed as a disruptive influence on the galaxy by non-human media. At the same time, other races immediately recognize humans as a fast-growing, highly adaptable, intelligent, and militarily capable race.

Insurrection
After decades of growing stagnation in the political and military-industrial complex, the Systems Alliance had devolved into a firmly-entrenched plutocracy. Wealthy megacorporations wielded vast political power, and for all intents and purposes would buy elections for their favored candidates. Senators in the Alliance Senate were rarely ever removed from office before retirement or death, and when they were, it was usually due to a disagreement with their sponsoring corporation. Furthermore, taxation rates were punitive, and loopholes existed to enable the wealthy and well-connected to effectively negate half or more of their own fiscal burden.

These problems led to numerous and frequent colonial uprisings, especially in the Tyrian Traverse and Shrike Abyssal regions. Further compounding these issues was the crushing power of the six Allied Fleets, which mercilessly decimated any rebellion. With colonies unable to develop effective forces of their own, hindered both by legality and cost, the Alliance existed in a perpetual state of near-martial law. The brief but devastating Civil War that resulted was arguably the inevitable result of these centuries of classism.

In 2170, the 5th Allied Fleet under command of Systems Alliance Navy Fleet Admiral Khyber Dominar appeared just beyond the orbit of Jupiter - the closest position to Earth that any Relay could plot. The unannounced and unordered arrival of any fully-armed Allied Fleet beyond the military outpost at the Charon Relay was considered the modern equivalent of crossing the Rubicon with a Legion in Ancient Rome. The Alliance knew immediately that something was amiss.

Collapse
Within minutes, orders had been flung down from SAFOC (Systems Alliance Fleet Operations Command) to all other Allied Fleets to respond to an invasion of Earth immediately. This likely baffled Alliance commanders in the field, as any invasion force would have had to plot through at least one Relay in Alliance space on the way to Earth. The Alliance had never prepared for a rebellion of any substantial size, so all Fleets were at least a week from the homeworld.

The garrison was substantial for a single system, but still no match for a Fleet that was designed for putting down full-scale rebellions and invading enemy territory. Furthermore, the access that Dominar and his officers had to Alliance defense systems was unprecedented, and nearly all were disabled before the Alliance could revoke access.

In the end, Earth surrendered within two hours. What the Alliance Senate expected was to wait for a week or two, and then have the rebellious Fleet blasted out of orbit by the other returning Fleets, outnumbered five to one. What they didn't expect was for Dominar to order the destruction of the interstellar communications network, for which Earth was the hub, effectively cutting off all communications between Alliance systems across the galaxy. This ushered in an immediate sense of aloneness for every world in Alliance space, and subsequently caused rebellions and uprisings on a majority of the colonies. This firestorm consumed most of the Allied Fleets, and by the time the remnants limped back to Earth, they surrendered or were put down by Dominar's pristine, nearly-untouched armada.

The end of the other five Fleets was the end of the Alliance as a functional state. Fleet Admiral Dominar was named Military Chairman of the Alliance, a functional but rather euphemistic title for dictator, and over time he dissolved the Senate and instituted the Terran Empire, which now rules 90% of former Alliance territory, along with significant expansions elsewhere.